Silk Dove
by TheHufflepuffHuntress
Summary: The silk dove burned, and he spoke. Rated for character death.


**Hi! It's been a bit, hasn't it! How are you lovely folks? This is just something that came out of nowhere, and it may be complete tosh, but hey! I had fun writing it! Virtual cookies to faves and reviews!**

 **Disclaimer: All recognisable features of this belong to the one and only Rick Riordan**

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"Well, where to start? I guess I'm just gonna be cliché and tell you what people thought of Piper McLean, because if you asked anyone who had known Piper McLean what they thought of her, there was one word used to describe her. Charming. And not because of her ability to charmspeak. Because of her personality.

If she wanted help repairing her armour, the Hephaestus kids would give you stories of how she not only helped to repair her own armour, but she stayed and helped to repair other people's armour. She'd talk to the campers, make them feel happier, sometimes girlier, maybe even a little less lonely.

When you heard tales from the Apollo cabin about her, you would be hearing of how, with broken bones and bleeding gashes from lava walls and monsters, Piper would come to get healed, and stay to help other patients, whether with treatment or bedside nursing. She cheered people up and fixed their aches and bruises, whilst still healing herself.

Talking to Athena campers, you would hear of the questions she asked, even if it were only the chemical contents of certain beauty products (because Layla _was_ allergic, and she never checks herself, and it's so horrible when she has a reaction, so please, please find out!). But what impressed Athena's kids were her own answers to questions about the things that those smart, dorky kids never seemed to get, like crushes and makeup. She was sensitive and knowledgeable, she made you confident and helped you with whatever you needed.

Any other cabin would say the same things. She took lessons in knife arts from Ares kids, and ended up showing the Ares kids how to kill a monster with just a mirror and lipstick. A Hermes kid stole her favourite scarf, and she gave them the matching hat and gloves, and one time, the Demeter kids accidentally turned her desk into plants, but she just laughed and said that it looked better that way. She tended that desk carefully every year that it bloomed.

She even charmed the Hunters of Artemis. They had fond memories of heated debates over the merits of guys vs the merits of no guys where they would angrily shout about how stupid men were, and how stupider women were for loving them, and Piper would just smile and agree.

Piper melted even the hardest of hearts. Coach Hedge made her look after his son for an afternoon, and he found himself a permanent and willing babysitter, reluctant as Piper was at first.

But Piper McLean was best remembered by those who held her close. Charming to the core.

Annabeth never said anything. But Piper knew that Annabeth needed a proper girlfriend, someone she could talk to when it was about Percy, or it wasn't something Percy could help with. Annabeth would bare her soul to Piper, not expecting sympathy or help, just understanding, and yet Piper gave Annabeth all three of those things.

Leo saw Piper as a sister. He came to her in times of need, even after returning with Calypso, and she was always ready to dry his tears and make him smile again. She was always open-armed, even when she herself needed someone to lean on; she just focused on helping Leo.

But I like to think that no one could hold an opinion on Piper better than me.

You see, I know that that's wrong, and that "Winged Cupid is blind," blah blah blah, so there are things that I could not see about Pipes. Yet I seem to be the only one to see the truth about her.

Yes, my girlfriend was charming. She loved everyone, she was beautiful, an angel, really! But I know that she was a coward.

Don't gasp, it's true.

Piper McLean was a coward. She was afraid of herself, and afraid of her power. She knew that she could use her charmspeak to have whatever she wanted, be it repaired armour, quick healing, answered questions. I think that if she tried, she could have simply asked someone to be happy and not worried, and yet, she feared herself, and she couldn't do that, so she went about her life being charming and helping everyone, repaying her debts before they even started mounting, repaying her debts in double. So okay, Piper McLean was a wonderful person. When I said angel earlier, I meant it. Piper was my angel, my salvation, all I ever wanted and more. But she was a coward.

And if only she wasn't a coward, she'd be here today! She-she would have believed in herself and her powers and, and she could have convinced the giant to save her. If only I could have helped her be confident and strong, she would have been h-here today. If I had half her compassion, I would have been able to save her before she even needed saving. Mea culpa. Mea culpa. So DAMN YOU PIPER MCLEAN, FOR BEING A COWARD. Damn me...for being a bigger one..."

As Jason watched the burning silk dove turn to ash, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He nodded in understanding and let out a breath that he had held for too long. He knew that there was more than one coward in this world.

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 **As I said, it was rather random! Anyway, if you read my main story, there's an update about that in my bio, and aside from that, hope you enjoyed! See ya! xxx**

 **Huntress**


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